I had the very great pleasure of being introduced to the author, Siri Hustvedt, after being invited to be in the audience of Radio 4’sBookclub. Rather than discuss her latest release, the focus was on her earlier novel, What I Loved, the result of a six-year writing struggle to find the right structure for a story…
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To celebrate the launch of the hardback large print edition of Half-truths and White Lies (designed for those with poor eyesight), I have two copies to give away on a first-come, first-served basis.

In search of a January day out in London on a shoestring, we took a trip to the British Museum to view the Staffordshire Hoard, accompanied by dozens of sticky-fingered kids who had already left their marks on the two glass cases. Whilst I am sympathetic to the lobby for the retention of the find…
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Who clears up afterwards?

For all those of you who are in the midst of Christmas preparations, a reminder that Christmas arrived late last year. It didn’t require a fanfare, or cards, presents, wrapping paper or tinsel. It was a day when the schools were closed but the pubs and parks were full. Families spent time together. Adults remembered what it felt…
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I don’t know what it says about the current state of the music industry that the nation has taken Seasick Steve to their hearts. Brixton Academy was busier than I have ever seen it before, some of the audience being of the too young to buy watered-down beer variety. But, afterall, this is a man who…
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And I don’t mind at all, I really don’t. It’s just that this is about the age when the Davis family children started to make home-made badges for our dear father out of empty cornflake boxes, which we made him wear to work, naturally. And they were not descreet, oh no: they were the size of a…
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Another five star on Amazon has just made my day. Thank you Kandy from Oxford.

John Irving is the author who made me want to write. No doubt about it. A Prayer for Owen Meany and Cider House Rules are, quite simply, two of the most inspirational novels that I have read. Why? The characterisation is extraordinary. But there is something else about his work that I admire: he has the confidence to approach…
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So, my local Lib Dem MP, Tom Brake, has emailed me to ask for my views on the proposal to repeal the ban on fox-hunting. And I want to reply with the word CRUEL to show my complete horror at the suggestion – but something is preventing me. It is the foxes who use my garden on…
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